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Contract Electricity Workers in Andhra Pradesh On Indefinite Strike

Their demands include regularisation of service, abolition of contract and piece-rate system, and equal pay for equal work.
Contract Electricity Workers Strike

Image Courtesy: The Hans India

More than 20,000 contractual workers in the electricity sector of Andhra Pradesh have been staging an indefinite strike since 20 February.

Their main demands are regularisation of service and abolition of the contract system. They also want abolition of the piece-rate system, as there are a significant number of piece-rate workers among the non-permanent category of workers, and are demanding payment of monthly salaries instead. Until the workers are regularised, they are demanding that the Supreme Court orders of ‘equal pay for equal work’ for temporary employees be implemented. They are also demanding direct payment of salaries to workers by the government and not by any third-party agency or contractor.

Further, workers have been demanding a compensation of Rs 20 lakh in case of accidental death of an employee, along with permanent employment to one person from the family.

For the last six months, we have been agitating for end to the contract system and our other demands. We have held relay hunger strike, processions, etc,” said Naga Brahmachari, general secretary of the United Employees’ Union (affiliated to the Electricity Employees Federation of India), to Newsclick.

He said workers had given a strike notice to the management, after which discussions were held twice, but to no avail.

More than 95% of the contract workers are participating in this indefinite strike since it began on 20 February. Around 20,000 workers in 13 districts have also joined protest activities like dharnas, many with their families.”

There are more than 24,000 contract electricity employees across the state power transmission and generation companies as well as other departments, but they have been doing the same work as permanent employees, said Brahmachari.

The contract workers’ unions in the state have formed the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Contract Workers United Forum.

On 23 February, a delegation of the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Contract Workers’ United Forum, along with the state secretaries of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), met chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

But the chief minister is not willing to resolve the issue. He said it was a matter between the contract workers and the management,” said Brahmachari.

He said the management had issued new instructions to remove the striking employees and recruit new ones, although the move has not been implemented yet.

Workers are not afraid. We will keep fighting and continue with the indefinite strike till our demands are met,” he said.

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